Briquid Mini review (Mobile)

Briquid Mini is an easy to understand puzzler that’s hard to master. Its short but often fiendishly difficult levels make this a great game to play while on the go.

Dutch game studio Gamious has previously released the original Briquid – a cross between ‘brick’ and ‘liquid’ – for Android, iOS and Windows. Briquid Mini is based on that game and is now available for the iOS platform for less than a dollar – a total bargain.

Briquid Mini is a tile-based puzzler just like Chuck’s Challenge and Sneaky Sneaky, but very different in nature. Its graphical style resembles classic puzzlers from the 80s such as Puzznic, but in terms of gameplay you’re looking at a clever blend of physics and block building.

As the title suggests, water plays an important role in the game. Your aim in each of the levels is to fill a predefined area with water in a limited number of moves. Moves consist of placing or removing blocks, or rotating the screen – both resulting in the movement of water, which follows the laws of gravity and spreads out over a wide area if left uncontained.

You’re only allowed a certain number of moves per level, which stops you from using a ‘slow and steady’ strategy at times where you initially feel it’s the only way to solve the level. When you’re suddenly hit with a ‘euraka!’-moment, satisfaction is instantaneous. Such moments might include flipping the screen upside down, freeing a large body of water from its confines without tearing it down brick by brick – but that same move might also see you lose control in the next level.

Briquid Mini’s concept is simple and fun to play around with. We would have liked a ‘sandbox’ mode with unlimited moves just to get to grips with the levels a bit more, but not having that option ramps up the difficulty level and ensures this is also a title that will appeal to hardcore puzzle fanatics. If you’re not in that group – don’t worry, the game doesn’t force you to complete all the levels to 100% before allowing you to continue. With 100 puzzles to solve, you’re looking at an absolute steal for puzzle fans at less than 1 cent per puzzle.